Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
August,  1921.  J 
Blood  Coagulants. 
545 
vanced  for  the  lack  of  normal  coagulating  properties.  It  was  sug- 
gested that  an  insufficient  production  of  Thromboplastic  substances 
may  also  retard  coagulation,  inasmuch  as  only  a  portion  of  the  anti- 
thrombin  would  only  be  acted  upon.  This  would  still  leave  some  of 
the  prothrombin  intact,  and  only  the  released  prothrombin  would  be 
capable  of  exerting  the  coagulating  effect,  which  would  undoubtedly 
be  diminished. 
Howell  upon  further  investigation  showed  that  this  "thrombo- 
plastic substance"  or  "thromboplastin"  contains  a  phosphorized  fat 
known  as  "Kephalin,"  or  "Cephalin,"  and  that  the  latter  was  the 
actual  substance  of  the  Thromboplastin  which  influenced  coagulation. 
Kephalin,  a  fat  containing  phosphorous  (called  a  phosphorized 
fat)  is  also  an  important  constituent  in  nervous  tissue  (especially 
brain  and  spinal  cord)  and  present  in  larger  quantities  here  than  in 
any  other  tissue. 
Preparations  containing  Kephalin,  the  underlying  principle  of 
Thromboplastin  were  soon  prepared  from  ether  extractions  of  the 
brain  and  spinal  cords  of  mammals  (sheep,  of  cattle,  etc.).  These 
products  alone,  or  admixed  with  normal  serum  or  extracts  from 
normal  serum  or  dried  blood  and  blood  platelets  are  marketed  as 
efficient  blood  coagulants  under  various  names  as : 
Brain  Lipoid,  Solution  of  Brain  Extract,  Thromboplastin, 
Hemoplastin,  Coagulen,  and  Coagulose. 
It  is  at  times  impossible  to  determine  just  what  element  is  lack- 
ing which  may  result  in  an  increase  in  the  coagulation  time  of  blood 
in  an  individual.  Such  a  defect  must  be  remedied  if  the  patient  is  to 
undergo  surgical  operation,  etc.  In  some  instances  it  may  be  due  to 
a  deficiency  of  calcium.  This  can  be  easily  remedied  by  administer- 
ing calcium  salts. 
At  times  there  may  be  a  deficiency  of  prothromGin  while  the 
Kephalin  products  are  useful  in  supplying  thromboplastin  which 
may  be  lacking  in  other  instances. 
These  specific  Blood  Coagulants  are  employed  hypodermatically, 
intravenously,  etc.,  for  the  treatment  of  inaccessible  hemorrhages, 
and  by  local  application  in  accessible  hemorrhages.  They  have  been 
employed  with  considerable  success  in  many  cases,  but  as  yet  as  far 
from  a  true  specific  in  the  treatment  of  all  causes  of  hemorrhages, 
accessible  or  inaccessible. 
Their  use  is  not  as  extensive  as  might  be  due  to  the  fact  that 
